Khuzestan ProvinceKhuzestan Province (Persian: استان خوزستان‎, Ostān-e
Khūzestān) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the
southwest of the country, bordering
IraqIraq and the Persian Gulf. Its
capital is
AhvazAhvaz and it covers an area of 63,238 km2. Other major
cities include, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Dezful, Andimeshk, Shush,
Shushtar, Behbahan, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Omidiyeh, Izeh,
Baq-e-Malek, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Susangerd, Ramhormoz, Shadegan, Masjed
Soleyman & Hoveyzeh. The counties of
Khuzestan ProvinceKhuzestan Province are
AndimeshkAndimeshk County,
DezfulDezful County, Lali County, Andika County, Gotvand
County, Shush County,
ShushtarShushtar County,
Masjed SoleymanMasjed Soleyman County, Izeh
County, Dasht-e Azadegan County,
HoveyzehHoveyzeh County, Bavi County, Haftkel
County,
Bagh-e MalekBagh-e Malek County,
RamhormozRamhormoz County,
AhvazAhvaz County, Karun
County,
RamshirRamshir County,
OmidiyehOmidiyeh County,
AghajariAghajari County, Behbahan
County,
HendijanHendijan County,
MahshahrMahshahr County,
ShadeganShadegan County,
KhorramshahrKhorramshahr County &
AbadanAbadan County. In 2014 it was placed in
Region 4.[2]
As the Iranian province with the oldest history, it is often referred
to as the "birthplace of the nation", as this is where the history of
the
ElamitesElamites begins. Historically, one of the most important regions
of the Ancient Near East, Khuzestan is what historians refer to as
ancient Elam, whose capital was in Susa. The
AchaemenidAchaemenid Old Persian
term for
ElamElam was Hujiyā when they conquered it from the Elamites,
which is present in the modern name. Khuzestan, meaning "the Land of
the Khuz" refers to the original inhabitants of this province, the
"Susian" people (
Old PersianOld Persian "Huza" or Huja (as in the inscription at
the tomb of
Darius the GreatDarius the Great at Naqsh-e Rostam, (the Shushan of the
Hebrew sources) where it is recorded as inscription as "Hauja" or
"Huja"). In
Middle PersianMiddle Persian the term evolves into "Khuz" and "Kuzi".
The pre-Islamic Partho-
SasanianSasanian Inscriptions gives the name of the
province as Khwuzestan.
The seat of the province has for the most of its history been in the
northern reaches of the land, first at
SusaSusa (Shush) and then at
Shushtar. During a short spell in the
SasanianSasanian era, the capital of the
province was moved to its geographical center, where the river town of
Hormuz-Ardasher, founded over the foundation of the ancient Hoorpahir
by Ardashir I, the founder of the
SasanianSasanian Dynasty in the 3rd century
CE. This town is now known as Ahvaz. However, later in the Sasanian
time and throughout the Islamic era, the provincial seat returned and
stayed at Shushtar, until the late Qajar period. With the increase in
the international sea commerce arriving on the shores of Khuzistan,
AhvazAhvaz became a more suitable location for the provincial capital. The
River
KarunKarun is navigable all the way to
AhvazAhvaz (above which, it flows
through rapids). The town was thus refurbished by the order of the
Qajar king,
Naser al-Din ShahNaser al-Din Shah and renamed after him, Nâseri. Shushtar
quickly declined, while Ahvaz/
Nâseri prospered to the present day.
Currently, Khuzestan has 18 representatives in Iran's parliament, the
Majlis. Meanwhile it has 6 representatives in the Assembly of Experts,
including Ayatollahs Mousavi Jazayeri, Ka'bi, Heidari, Farhani,
Shafi'i, Ahmadi. Khuzestan is known for its ethnic diversity; the
population of Khuzestan consists of Lurs, Iranian Arabs, Qashqai
people, Afshar tribe, indigenous Persians and Iranian Armenians.[3]
Khuzestan's population is predominantly Shia Muslim, but there are
small Christian, Jewish,
SunniSunni and Mandean minorities.[3] Half of
Khuzestan's population is Bakhtiari.[4] Since the 1920s, tensions on
religious and ethnic grounds have often resulted in violence and
attempted separatism, including an uprising in 1979, unrest in 2005,
bombings in 2005–06 and protests in 2011, drawing much criticism of
IranIran by international human rights organizations. In 1980, the region
was invaded by Ba'athist Iraq, leading to the Iran–
IraqIraq War

Etymology[edit]
Main article: Origin of the name Khuzestan
The name Khuzestan means "The Land of the Khuzi",[5] and refers to the
original inhabitants of this province, the "Susian" people (Old
Persian "Huza",
Middle PersianMiddle Persian "Khuzi" or "Husa"[6] (the Shushan of
the Hebrew sources). The name of the city of
AhvazAhvaz also has the same
origin as the name Khuzestan, being an Arabic broken plural from the
compound name, "Suq al-Ahvaz" (Market of the Huzis)--the medieval name
of the town, that replaced the
SasanianSasanian Persian name of the
pre-Islamic times.
The entire province was still known as "the Khudhi" or "the Khooji"
until the reign of the
SafavidSafavid king
Tahmasp ITahmasp I (r. 1524—1576) and in
general the course of the 16th century. The southern half of the
province—south, southwest of the Ahwaz Ridge, had come by the 17th
century to be known—at least to the imperial
SafavidSafavid chancery as
Arabistan. The contemporaneous history, the Alamara-i Abbasi by
Iskandar Beg Munshi, written during the reign of king Abbas I (r.
1588—1629), regularly refers to the southern part of Khuzestan as
"Arabistan". The northern half continued to be called Khuzestan. In
1925, the entire province regained the old name and the term Arabistan
was dropped.
There is also a very old folk etymology which maintains the word
"khouz" stands for sugar and "Khouzi" for people who make raw sugar.
The province has been a cane sugar producing area since the late
SassanianSassanian times, such as the sugar cane fields of the
Dez RiverDez River side
in Dezful. Khouzhestan has been the land of Khouzhies who cultivate
sugar cane even today in Haft Tepe.
There have been many attempts at finding other sources for the name,
but none have proved tenable.
Geography and climate[edit]
The province of Khuzestan can be basically divided into two regions,
the rolling hills and mountainous regions north of the
AhvazAhvaz Ridge,
and the plains and marsh lands to its south. The area is irrigated by
the Karoun, Karkheh, Jarahi and Maroun rivers. The northern section
maintains a non-Persian (Bakhtiari, minority, while the southern
section had always a diverse speaking minority groups Known as Khuzis
until the great flood of job seekers from all over
IranIran inundated the
oil and commerce centers on the coasts of the
Persian GulfPersian Gulf since the
1940s it became more Persian speaking. Presently, Khouzestan has still
maintains its Diverse group but it does have Arabs, Persians,
Bakhtiari and ethnic Qashqais and Lors.
Khuzestan has great potential for agricultural expansion, which is
almost unrivaled by the country's other provinces. Large and permanent
rivers flow over the entire territory contributing to the fertility of
the land. Karun, Iran's most effluent river, 850 kilometers long,
flows into the
Persian GulfPersian Gulf through this province. The agricultural
potential of most of these rivers, however, and particularly in their
lower reaches, is hampered by the fact that their waters carry salt,
the amount of which increases as the rivers flow away from the source
mountains and hills. In case of the Karun, a single tributary river,
Rud-i Shur ("Salty River") that flows into the
KarunKarun above Shushtar
contributes most of the salt that the river carries. As such, the
freshness of the
KarunKarun waters could be greatly enhanced if the Rud-i
Shur could be diverted away from the Karun. The same applies to the
Jarahi and
Karkheh in their lower reaches. Only the
MarunMarun is exempt
from this.
The climate of Khuzestan is generally very hot and occasionally humid,
particularly in the south, while winters are much more cold and dry.
Summertime temperatures routinely exceed 45 °C (113 °F)
degrees Celsius and in the winter it can drop below freezing, with
occasional snowfall, all the way south to Ahvaz. Khuzestan is possibly
one of the hottest places on earth with maximum temperature in summer
soaring up to 55 °C (131 °F) degrees Celsius air
temperature with temperatures coming close to 60 degrees Celsius at
times. The world's highest unconfirmed temperature was a temperature
flare up during a heat burst in June 1967, with a temperature of
87 °C in
AbadanAbadan in the Khuzestan province. [30] Reliable
measurements in the city range from −5 to 53 °C (23 to
127 °F). Khuzestan has desert conditions and experiences many
sandstorms.
History[edit]
Main article: History of Khuzestan
Antiquity[edit]

The ziggurat of
Choqa ZanbilChoqa Zanbil in Khuzestan was a magnificent structure
of the Elamite Empire. Khuzestan's
ElamitesElamites were "precursors of the
royal Persians", and were "the founders of the first Iranian empire in
the geographic sense."

The province of Khuzestan is one of the centres of ancient
civilization, and one of the most important regions of the Ancient
Near East, based around Susa. The first large scale empire based here
was that of the powerful 4th millennium BC Elamites.
Archeological ruins verify the entire province of Khuzestan to be home
to the Elamite civilization, a non-Semitic, and
non-Indo-European-speaking kingdom, and "the earliest civilization of
Persia".[7] The name Khuzestan is derived from the Elamite (Ūvja).[8]
In fact, in the words of Elton L. Daniel, the
ElamitesElamites were "the
founders of the first 'Iranian' empire in the geographic sense."[9]
Hence the central geopolitical significance of Khuzestan, the seat of
Iran's first empire.[citation needed]
In 640 BC, the
ElamitesElamites were defeated by Ashurbanipal, coming under
the rule of the Assyrians who brought destruction upon
SusaSusa and Chogha
Zanbil. But in 538 BC, Cyrus the Great was able to re-conquer the
Elamite lands after nearly 80 years of Median rule. The city of Susa
was then proclaimed as one of the
AchaemenidAchaemenid capitals. Darius the
Great then erected a grand palace known as Apadana there in 521 BC.
But this astonishing period of glory and splendor of the Achaemenian
dynasty came to an end by the conquests of Alexander of Macedon. The
SusaSusa weddings was arranged by Alexander in 324 BC in Susa, where mass
weddings took place between the Persians and the Macedonians.[10]
After Alexander, the
Seleucid dynastySeleucid dynasty came to rule the area.
As the
Seleucid dynastySeleucid dynasty weakened, Mehrdad I the Parthian (171–137
BC), gained ascendency over the region. During the
SassanidSassanid dynasty
this area thrived tremendously and flourished, and this dynasty was
responsible for the many constructions that were erected in Ahvaz,
Shushtar, and the north of Andimeshk.
During the early years of the reign of
Shapur IIShapur II (AD 309 or
310–379), Arabs crossed the
Persian GulfPersian Gulf from
BahrainBahrain to
"Ardashir-Khora" of Fars and raided the interior. In retaliation,
Shapur IIShapur II led an expedition through Bahrain, defeated the combined
forces of the Arab tribes of "Taghleb", "Bakr bin Wael", and "Abd
Al-Qays" and advanced temporarily into Yamama in central Najd. The
SassanidsSassanids resettled these tribes in
KermanKerman and Ahvaz. Arabs named
Shapur II, as "Shabur Dhul-aktāf" after this battle.[11]
The existence of prominent scientific and cultural centers such as
Academy of Gundishapur which gathered distinguished medical scientists
from Egypt, the Byzantine Empire, and Rome, shows the importance and
prosperity of this region during this era. The Jondi-Shapur Medical
School was founded by the order of Shapur I. It was repaired and
restored by
Shapur IIShapur II (a.k.a. Zol-Aktaf: "The Possessor of Shoulder
Blades") and was completed and expanded during the reign of
Anushirvan.
Muslim conquest of Khuzestan[edit]
Main article: Muslim conquest of Khuzestan

Masjed Jame' Dezful. In spite of devastating damage caused by Iraqi
shelling in the Iran–
IraqIraq War, Khuzestan still possesses a rich
heritage of architecture from Islamic, Sassanid, and earlier times.

The
Muslim conquest of KhuzestanMuslim conquest of Khuzestan took place in 639 AD under the
command of
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari from Basra, who drove the Persian
satrap
HormuzanHormuzan out of Ahvaz.
SusaSusa later fell, so
HormuzanHormuzan fled to
Shushtar. There his forces were besieged by Abu Musa for 18 months.
ShushtarShushtar finally fell in 642 AD; the Khuzistan Chronicle records that
an unknown Arab, living in the city, befriended a man in the army, and
dug tunnels through the wall in return for a third of the spoil. The
Basrans purged the Nestorians—the Exegete of the city and the Bishop
of Hormizd, and all their students—but kept
HormuzanHormuzan alive.[12]
There followed the conquests of
GundeshapurGundeshapur and of many other
districts along the Tigris. The
Battle of NahāvandBattle of Nahāvand finally secured
Khuzestan for the Muslim armies.[13]
During the Muslim conquest the
SassanidsSassanids were allied with non-Muslim
Arab tribes, which implies that those wars were religious, rather than
national. For instance in 633–634,
Khaled ibn WalidKhaled ibn Walid leader of the
Muslim Army, defeated a force of the Sassanids' Arab auxiliaries from
the tribes of Bakr, 'Ejl, Taghleb and Namer at 'Ayn Al-Tamr.[14]
The Muslim settlements by military garrisons in southern
IranIran was soon
followed by other types of expansion. Some families, for example, took
the opportunity to gain control of private estates.[15] Like the rest
of Iran, the Muslim conquest thus brought Khuzestan under the rule of
the Arabs of the
UmayyadUmayyad and
AbbasidAbbasid Caliphates, until Ya'qub bin
Laith as-Saffar, from southeastern Iran, raised the flag of
independence once more, and ultimately regained control over
Khuzestan, among other parts of Iran, founding the short-lived
SaffaridSaffarid dynasty. From that point on, Iranian dynasties would continue
to rule the region in succession as an important part of Iran.
In the
UmayyadUmayyad period, large groups of nomads from the Hanifa, Banu
Tamim, and
Abd al-QaysAbd al-Qays tribes crossed the
Persian GulfPersian Gulf and occupied
some of the richest Basran territories around
AhvazAhvaz and in Fars during
the second Islamic civil war in 661–665/680–684 AD.[16]
During the
AbbassidAbbassid period, in the second half of the 10th century,
the Assad tribe, taking advantage of quarrels under the Buwayhids,
penetrated into Khuzestan, where a group of Tamim had been living
since pre-Islamic times.[citation needed] However, following the fall
of the
AbbassidAbbassid dynasty, the flow of Arab immigrants into Persia
gradually diminished, but it nonetheless continued. In the latter part
of the 16th century, the
Bani Kaab (pronounced Chaub in the local Gulf
dialect), from Kuwait, settled in Khuzestan.[17] And during the
succeeding centuries, more Arab tribes moved from southern
IraqIraq to
Khuzestan.[18]

Pol Sefid

Qajar period[edit]
According to
C.E. BosworthC.E. Bosworth in Encyclopædia Iranica, under the Qajar
dynasty "the province was known, as in
SafavidSafavid times, as Arabistan,
and during the Qajar period was administratively a
governor-generalate." Half of Khuzestan was not known as Arabistan.
Khuzestan's northern, more populous parts, with the capital at
Shushtar, retained the old name, but also occasionally was
incorporated into the district of the Greater Lur due to the large
Bakhtiari population in half of Khuzestan.
In 1856, in the course of the
Anglo-Persian WarAnglo-Persian War over the city of
Herat, the British naval forces sailed up the
KarunKarun river all the way
to Ahvaz. However, in the settlement that followed, they evacuated the
province. Some tribal forces, such as those led by Sheikh Jabir
al-Kaabi, the Sheikh of Mohammerah, fared better in opposing the
invading British forces than those dispatched by the central
government, which was quite feeble. But, the point of the invasion of
the province and other coastal regions of southern Persia/
IranIran were to
force the evacuation of
HeratHerat by the Persians and not the permanent
occupation of these regions.
Pahlavi era[edit]
Further information: Khuzestan conflict
In the two decades before 1925, although nominally part of Persian
territory, the western part of Khuzestan functioned for many years
effectively as an autonomous emirate known as "Arabistan". The eastern
part of Khuzestan was governed by Bakhtiari khans. Following Sheikh
Khazal's rebellion, the western part of Khuzestan's emirate was
dissolved by
Reza ShahReza Shah government in 1925, along with other autonomous
regions of Persia, in a bid to centralize the state. In response
Sheikh Khaz'al of Muhammerah initiated a rebellion, which was quickly
crushed by the newly installed Pahlavi dynasty with minimal
casualties. A low level conflict between the central Iranian
government and the Arab nationalists of the province continued since.
The name of 'Khuzistan' came to be applied to the entire territory by
1936.[19] Over the next decades of the Pahlavi rule, the province of
Khuzestan remained relatively quiet, gaining to hold an important
economic and defensive strategic position.
Islamic Republic[edit]
After the revolution[edit]
With the Iranian Revolution taking place in early 1979, local
rebellions swept the country, with Khuzestan being no exception. In
April 1979, an uprising broke out in the province, led by the Arab
separatist group Arab Political and Cultural Organisation (APCO),
seeking to gain independence from the new theocratic rule.[20]
The
Iranian Embassy SiegeIranian Embassy Siege of 1980 in London was initiated by an Arab
separatist group as an aftermath response to the regional crackdown in
Khuzestan, after the 1979 uprising. Initially it emerged the
terrorists wanted autonomy for Khuzestan; later they demanded the
release of 91 of their comrades held in Iranian jails.[21][22] The
group which claimed responsibility for the siege the Arab Popular
Movement in Arabistan gave a number of press conferences in the
following months, referring to what it described as "the racist rule
of Khomeini". It threatened further international action as part of
its campaign to gain self- rule for Khuzestan. But its links with
BaghdadBaghdad served to undermine its argument that it was a purely Iranian
opposition group; there were allegations that it was backed by Iran's
regional rival, Iraq. Their leader ("Salim" - Awn Ali Mohammed) along
with four other members of the group were killed and the fifth member,
Fowzi Badavi Nejad, was sentenced to life imprisonment.[22]
Iran–
IraqIraq war[edit]
During the Iran–
IraqIraq War, Khuzestan was the focus of the Iraqi
invasion of Iran, leading to the flight of thousands of the province's
residents. As a result, Khuzestan suffered the heaviest damage of all
Iranian provinces during the war. Iraq's President
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein felt
confident that the Arab population of the Khuzestan would react
enthusiastically to the prospect of union with Iraq. However,
resistance to the invasion was fierce, stalling the Iraqi military's
advance, and ultimately opening a window of opportunity for an Iranian
counter-offensive.
What used to be Iran's largest refinery at
AbadanAbadan was destroyed, never
to fully recover. Many of the famous nakhlestans (palm groves) were
annihilated, cities were destroyed, historical sites were demolished,
and nearly half the province captured by the invading Iraqi army.[23]
This created a mass exodus into other provinces that did not have the
logistical capability of taking in such a large number of refugees.
However, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push Iraqi forces out of
Iran. The battle of "the Liberation of Khorramshahr" (one of
Khuzestan's largest cities and the most important Iranian port prior
to the war) was a turning point in the war, and is officially
celebrated every year in Iran.
The city of
KhorramshahrKhorramshahr was almost completely destroyed as a result
of the scorched earth policy ordered by Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein.
However, Iranian forces were able to prevent the Iraqis from
attempting to spread the execution of this policy to other major urban
centres.
During 1990s[edit]

The Government of the
IranIran does not conduct any official ethnic census
in the country, thus it is difficult to determine the exact
demographics. Beginning in the early 1990s, many ethnic Persian
Khuzestanis began migrating to the province in order to change the
demographics, a trend which continues to this day as the major urban
centres are being rebuilt and restored.
2005–present[edit]
In 2005,
AhvazAhvaz witnessed a number of terrorist attacks, which came
following the violent
AhvazAhvaz riots. The first bombing came ahead of the
presidential election on 12 June 2005. In 2011, another wave of
protests by Arab tribes occurred mostly in the urban area of Ahvaz.
Before the Iran–
IraqIraq War of the 1980s, the Arabs of Khuzestan mostly
resided in the rural regions along the Karkhe and
KarunKarun rivers in the
southwest of the province and the number living in cities was very
limited because the Arab tribes were still following a nomadic
lifestyle.[citation needed] But after the end of the war, most of the
refuged Arabs were relocated by the government to the urban centres
and smaller towns. This conversion of lifestyle directly from nomadic
to city life caused many problems and conflicts in the structure of
their societies and ultimately has led to some unrest.
Politics[edit]
Main article: Politics of Khuzestan Province
Khuzestan is ethnically diverse,[3] home to many different ethnic
groups.[3] This has a bearing on Khuzestan's electoral politics, with
ethnic minority rights playing a significant role in the province's
political culture. The province's geographical location bordering Iraq
and its oil resources also make it a politically sensitive region,
particularly given its history of foreign intervention, notably the
Iraqi invasion of 1980.
Some ethnic groups complain over the distribution of the revenue
generated by oil resources with claims that the central government is
failing to invest profits from the oil industry in employment
generation, post-war reconstruction and welfare projects. Low human
development indicators among local Khuzestanis are contrasted with the
wealth generation of the local oil industry. Minority rights are
frequently identified with strategic concerns, with ethnic unrest
perceived by the Iranian government as being generated by foreign
governments to undermine the country's oil industry and its internal
stability. The politics of Khuzestan therefore have international
significance and go beyond the realm of electoral politics.
According to Jane's Information Group, "Most
Iranian ArabsIranian Arabs seek their
constitutionally guaranteed rights and do not have a separatist agenda
... While it may be true that some Arab activists are separatists,
most see themselves as Iranians first and declare their commitment to
the state's territorial integrity."[24]
People and culture[edit]

A bust from The National Museum of
IranIran of Queen Musa, wife of
Phraates IV of Parthia, excavated by a French team in Khuzestan in
1939.

According to the 1996 census, the province had an estimated population
of 3.7 million people, of which approximately 62.5% were in the urban
centres, 36.5% were rural dwellers and the remaining 1% were
non-residents. According to the most recent census taken in 2004, the
province had an estimated population of 4,711,000 inhabitants.[25]
Khuzestan is inhabited by many different ethnic groups;[3] the
population of Khuzestan consists of native Persians, Arabs,
Bakhtiaris,
LursLurs , Turkic-speaking
Qashqai peopleQashqai people and Afshar tribe,
and Armenians.[3]
In literature[edit]
Khuzestan has long been the subject of many a writer and poet of
Persia, banking on its ample sugar production to use the term as
allegory for sweetness. Some popular verses are:
"Her lips aflow with sweet sugar,
The sweet sugar that aflows in Khuzestan."
Nizami
"Your graceful figure like the cypress in Kashmar,
Your sweet lips like the sugar of Khuzestan."
Nizari Qohistani
So Sām hath not need ride afar
from
AhvazAhvaz up to Qandehar."
Ferdosi
Languages[edit]
Main article: Persian dialects in Khuzestan
The indigenous inhabitants of Khuzestan speak Khuzestani Persian
dialects that are unique to Khuzestan, and are rooted in old Persian
and Elamite languages. The most widely spoken dialect in Khuzestan is
Bakhtiari. Except in
SusangerdSusangerd and Hoveizh, Bakhtiari is found
everywhere. Many Khuzestanis are bilingual, speaking both Persian and
one of the following languages/Dialects: Khuzi languages such as
Dezfuli/Shushtari, Behbahani, Ramhormozi, Ghanavati and Mahshahri or
tribal languages such as Bakhtiari dialect, Arabic, Bahmee, and
Qashqai. Modern Mandaic (or Mandaee) language is spoken among minority
MandaeansMandaeans mainly in
AhvazAhvaz and Dezful. It is the ancient Mandaic
language mingled by some aspect of Khuzi. The Arabic spoken in
Khuzestan is Mesopotamian Arabic, the same dialect as is spoken in
Iraq. Ahvaz, Susangerd, Hoveyzeh,
ShadeganShadegan (Doorak),
OmidiyehOmidiyeh and
lately
KhorramshahrKhorramshahr are main cities with people speaking Arabic. But
main Arab ethnic groups are in nomadic and rural regions along
Iran–
IraqIraq border in southwest of province to the
AhvazAhvaz urban areas.
The Persian and Bakhtiari groups of western Khuzestan all speak
distinct dialects unique to their areas. It is also not uncommon to
find people able to speak a variety of indigenous dialects in addition
to their own.
Traditions and religion[edit]
Khuzestani folk music is colorful and festive, and each native group
has their own rich traditions and legacy in this area.
The people of Khuzestan are predominantly Shia Muslims, with small
SunniSunni Muslim, Jewish,
ChristianChristian and Mandean minorities. Khuzestanis
are also very well regarded for their hospitality and generosity.[3]
Cuisine[edit]
SeafoodSeafood is the most important part of Khuzestani cuisine, but many
other dishes are also featured. The most popular Khuzestani dish is
Ghalyeh Mahi, a fish dish that is prepared with heavy spices, onions
and cilantro. The fish used in the dish is locally known as mahi
soboor (shad fish), a species of fish found in the Persian Gulf. Other
provincial specialties include Ghalyeh Meygu ("shrimp casserole"),
ashe-mohshala (a Khorramshahri breakfast stew), sær shir (a Dezfuli
breakfast of heavy cream), hælim (a Shushtari breakfast of wheatmeal
with shredded lamb), and kohbbeh (a deep-fried rice cake with ground
beef filling and other spices of Arabic origin, a variant on Levantine
kibbeh).[26] Also see Iranian cuisine.
Historical figures[edit]
Many scientists, philosophers, and poets have come from Khuzestan,
including Abu Nuwas, Abdollah ibn-Meymun Ahvazi, the astronomer
Nowbækht-e Ahvazi and his sons as well as Jorjis, the son of
Bakhtshua Gondishapuri, Ibn Sakit, Da'bal-e Khazai and Sheikh Mortedha
Ansari, a prominent Shi'a scholar from Dezful.
Economy[edit]

The government of
IranIran is spending large amounts of money in Khuzestan
province. The massive Karun-3 dam, was inaugurated recently as part of
a drive to boost Iran's growing energy demands.

Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of Iran, and as such is
one of the wealthiest provinces in Iran. Khuzestan ranks third among
Iran's provinces in GDP.[27]
In 2005, Iran's government announced it was planning the country's
second nuclear reactor to be built in Khuzestan province.[28] The 360
MW reactor will be a light water PWR Reactor.[29]
Khuzestan is also home to the Arvand Free Trade Zone.[30] It is one of
six economic Free Trade Zones in Iran.[31] and the PETZONE
(Petrochemical
SpecialSpecial Economic Zone in Mahshahr).
Shipping[edit]
KarunKarun river is the only navigable river in Iran. The British, up until
recent decades, after the discovery by Austen Henry Layard,
transported their merchandise via Karun's waterways, passing through
AhvazAhvaz all the way up to Langar near Shushtar, and then sent by road to
Masjed Soleimanthe site of their first oil wells in the Naftoon oil
field.
KarounKaroun is capable of the sailing of fairly large ships as far
up as Shushtar.
Karkheh, Jarrahi, Arvandrood, Handian, Shavoor, Bahmanshir
(Bahman-Ardeshir), Maroon-Alaa', Dez, and many other rivers and water
sources in the form of Khurs, lagoons, ponds, and marshes demonstrate
the vastness of water resources in this region, and are the main
reason for the variety of agricultural products developed in the area.

Agriculture[edit]
The abundance of water and fertility of soil has transformed this
region into a rich and well-endowed land. The variety of agricultural
products such as wheat, barley, oily seeds, rice, eucalyptus,
medicinal herbs; the existence of many palm and citrus farms; having
mountains suitable for raising olives, and of course sugar cane - from
which Khuzestan takes its name - all show the great potential of this
fertile plain. In 2005, 51,000 hectares of land were planted with
sugar canes, producing 350,000 tons of sugar.[32] The abundance of
water supplies, rivers, and dams, also have an influence on the
fishery industries, which are prevalent in the area.
The abadan island is an important area for the production of
datepalms, but it has suffered from the invasion of the Iraqi army
during the Iraq-
IranIran war. The palm groves are irrigated by tidal
irrigation.[33] At high tide, the waterlevel in the rivers is set up
and the river flow enters the irrigation canals that have been dug
from the river towards the inland plantations. At low tide, the canals
drain the unused part of the water back to the river.
Industry[edit]
There are several cane sugar mills in Khuzestan province, among them
Haft TepeHaft Tepe and
KarunKarun Agro Industry near Shushtar.
The
KarunKarun 3 and 4, and
Karkheh Dam, as well as the petroleum reserves
provide
IranIran with national sources of revenue and energy. The
petrochemical and steel industries, pipe making, the power stations
that feed the national electricity grid, the chemical plants, and the
large refineries are some of Iran's major industrial facilities.
Oil[edit]
The province is also home to Yadavaran Field, which is a major oil
field in itself and part of the disputed Al-Fakkah Field.
Higher education[edit]

KhorramshahrKhorramshahr University of Nautical Sciences and Technologies
AhvazAhvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
Petroleum University of Technology
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Shahid Chamran University - Dezful
Islamic Azad University of Shushtar
Islamic Azad University of Masjed Soleyman
Islamic Azad University of Abadan
Islamic Azad University of Omidiyeh
Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz
Islamic Azad University of Behbahan
Islamic Azad University of Izeh
Amirkabir University of Technology,
MahshahrMahshahr campus
Azad University of Mahshahr
Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan

Attractions of Khuzestan[edit]
IranIran National Heritage Organization lists 140 sites of historical and
cultural significance in Khuzestan, reflecting the fact that the
province was once the seat of Iran's most ancient empire.
Some of the more popular sites of attraction include:

The Parthian Prince, found in Khuzestan c. AD 100, is kept at The
National Museum of Iran, Tehran.

Choqa Zanbil: The seat of the Elamite Empire, this ziggurat is a
magnificent five-story temple that is one of the greatest ancient
monuments in the Middle-East today. The monolith, with its
labyrinthine walls made of thousands of large bricks with Elamite
inscription, manifest the sheer antiquity of the shrine. The temple
was religiously sacred and built in the honor of Inshushinak, the
protector deity of the city of Susa.
Shush-Daniel: Burial site of the Jewish prophet Daniel. He is said to
have died in
SusaSusa on his way to
JerusalemJerusalem upon the order of Darius.
The grave of Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, who rose against the
oppression of the
UmayyadUmayyad Caliphate, is also located nearby.
DezfulDezful (Dezh-pol), whose name is taken from a bridge (pol) over the
Dez river having 12 spans built by the order of Shapur I. This is the
same bridge that was called "Andamesh Bridge" by historians such as
IstakhriIstakhri who says the city of
AndimeshkAndimeshk takes its name from this
bridge.
MuqaddasiMuqaddasi called it "The City of the Bridge."
Shushtar, Home to the famous
ShushtarShushtar Watermills and one of the oldest
fortress cities in Iran, known as the "City of Forty Elders" in local
dialect. In and around Shushtar, there are many displays of ancient
hydraulic engineering. There are also the Band Mizan and Band Qeysar,
2000-year-old dams on the
KarounKaroun river and the famous Shadervan Bridge
which is over 2000 years old.The Friday Mosque of
ShushtarShushtar was built
by the Abbasids. The mosque, which features "Roman" arches, has 54
pillars and balconies.
Izeh, or Izaj, was one of the main targets of the invading Islamic
army in their conquest of Persia. Kharezad Bridge, one of the
strangest bridges of the world, was situated in this city and was
named after Ardeshir Babakan's mother. It is built over cast pillars
of lead each 104 meters high. Ibn Battuta, who visited the city in the
14th century, refers to many monasteries, caravanserais, aqueducts,
schools, and fortresses in the town. The brass statue of The Parthian
Man, kept at the National Museum of Iran, is from here.
Masjed Soleiman, another ancient town, has ancient fire altars and
temples such as Sar-masjed and Bard-neshondeh. It is also the winter's
resting area of the Bakhtiari tribe, and where
William Knox D'ArcyWilliam Knox D'Arcy dug
Iran's first oil well.
AbadanAbadan is said to be where the tomb of Elijah, the long lived Hebrew
prophet is.
IwanIwan of Hermes, and
IwanIwan of Karkheh, two enigmatic ruins north of
Susa.